Jakarta. The Indian hockey team clinched a bronze medal in the Hero Asia Cup 2022 with a 1-0 win over Japan at the GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday. A thrilling encounter saw a stellar performance from the Indian Hockey team. Raj Kumar Pal (7′ minutes) scored the lone goal for India, helping them secure a close win. India started the match cautiously, capturing the midfield. Karthi Selvam got a brilliant pass inside the circle and passed the ball to Vishnukant Singh, but his plans were shattered by the Japanese defense. After this, Raj Kumar Pal scored a goal in the 7th minute to give India a 1-0 lead. India got back-to-back penalty corners before the end of the first quarter, but Japan defended well.
The #MenInBlue solved in a riveting match between the two teams.
Relive the action from India’s Bronze medal match against Japan at the Hero Asia Cup 2022 in Jakarta!#IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #HeroAsiaCup #INDvsJPN @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/2B02b6iLm3— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 1, 2022
India immediately started an aggressive game in an attempt to double their lead in the second quarter. Japan got back-to-back penalty corner opportunities as the Indian defenders faced their first real test in the match. But India’s Yashdeep Siwach failed all the chances given to Japan. Japan continued their quest for equalization but India held a 1-0 lead till halftime.
Even after the second half, both the teams played well and they got many goalscoring opportunities through PC, but both the teams failed to score. Japan got another PC opportunity at the start of the final quarter, but it was foiled by Manjeet. Uttam Singh got a brilliant pass from Sudev and tried to score by reaching inside the circle to deflect the Japanese goalkeeper. But goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa stopped Uttam Singh from scoring. Maninder Singh tried to create a chance in the last minute, but was stopped by Japanese defenders, after which India won the match 1–0.